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It's still a long season ahead, but for the first time this year, the Humboldt Broncos are on the outside of the SJHL playoff race following a 5-2 defeat to the Kindersley Klippers on Friday night.
With 25 games played and 31 games remaining, the Broncos latest loss dropped them to a 13-10-1-0 record as they slipped below the playoff line and into 9th place.
Continuity in the win column has been the balancing beam which the Broncos have routinely slipped off over the last 30 days of action. It’s been a month since the Broncos have last won back-to-back games, and only twice have they achieved that feat since October 29th. An overall winning record has still kept them directly in the race of the wild SJHL standings. However, the inability to stretch wins together means they are not safe by any means.
On Friday, the Broncos built a 2-0 lead early in the second period with both goals coming from defensemen. Ryder Knutson, on a coast-to-coast effort, scored his second of the season, and Oakley McIlwain notched his third of the year off a screened point shot.
Although all of the season’s metrics up to this point when the Broncos score first and control leads have consistently been in their favour, unfortunately, it was not to be.
The Klippers went on to score five unanswered goals, three on the powerplay, and stormed back to complete a 5-2 victory.
Kindersley now holds a 3-1 series lead in the Nutrien division rivalry with four games remaining this season.
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Despite firing 61 shots on Saturday night, the Broncos walked with nothing as they were defeated by the Notre Dame Hounds 6-4.
Hounds netminder Spencer Borsos made 57 saves to steal a road victory, establishing a new season high in the SJHL.
Notre Dame jumped out to a 3-0 advantage with Marko Djordjevic scoring a pair of goals along with Neka Jean.
Fans had to wait until midway through the second period until they got to throw the teddy bears onto the ice. Maddox Amaral scored the first goal of the game for the Broncos, igniting a comeback.
Ryder Knutson and Jeter Korte scored as the game was tied 3-3 after 40 minutes.
The Hounds pulled away in the final frame, Ian Buors scored on a penalty shot, giving Notre Dame the lead.
Liam Hunks provided the insurance marker, scoring a spectacular goal weaving through the Broncos defenders. Anthony Nolan rounded out Notre Dame’s scoring.
Jacob Strizzi added a late power play goal with six seconds remaining.
Goalie Brady Holtvogt made 29 saves in the loss.
Humboldt falls to 9th overall in the SJHL standing with 27 points (13-11-1) but are tied with Kindersley and La Ronge, while holding a three-game advantage.
Next action for the Broncos is Tuesday night in a rematch against the Hounds in a neutral site game in Wynyard.
With files from Rory McGouran